HB2970

THE CONTEXT: Under A.R.S. 13-2310, it is a class 2 felony to knowingly obtain any benefit through a scheme or artifice to defraud using false pretenses, misrepresentations, promises or material omissions. If the scheme involved a benefit with a value of $100,000 or more, or the marketing of opioids, then the offender is largely ineligible for probation, pardon or other forms of early release. A scheme or artifice to defraud means a scheme that deprives a person of the intangible right of honest services.

WHAT THE BILL DID: The final vetoed version would provide that, in a prosecution for fraudulent schemes and artifices, the state is only required to establish that one of the acts which constitute the violation occurred within Arizona or one of its subdivisions, asserts that it is not a defense that not all the acts which constitute the violation occurred within Arizona or one of its subdivisions, and make technical and conforming changes.

WHY IT MATTERED: The practical reason for this bill was to create an operative state process for fraudulent schemes instead of leaving implementation undefined. It would provide that, in a prosecution for fraudulent schemes and artifices, the state is only required to establish that one of the acts which constitute the violation occurred within Arizona or one of its subdivisions, and would also asserts that it is not a defense that not all the acts which constitute the violation occurred within Arizona or one of its subdivisions, rather than leave the current rule unchanged.